EXPERT ADVICE
Today’s milling machines also reduce the
time required to change the all-important
cutting teeth. Early machines had the
teeth welded on, so tooth replacement re-
quired a fair amount of downtime as each
had to be re-welded to the drum. Now,
teeth are held in variously designed bolt-
on housings that permit faster changing.
“Milling fits into a contractor’s paving
portfolio as it gives both strategic and
scaled options for re-paving of existing
roads,” stated Marlene Soligo Bruce,
business development manager, Mad-
dock Construction Equipment, LLC,
Bloomington, Ind. “This cuts cost. It also
increases the use of underutilized equip-
ment such as backhoes.”
Bethards said, “Many contractors are
now offering asphalt milling as part of
their overall paving services in order to re-
duce delays associated with sub-contract-
ing this service. By offering it ‘in house,’
it also reduces costs and usually improves
overall job quality.”
Asphalt milling is a niche service, so can
really fit into a contractor’s portfolio of
services under several different classifica-
tions.
“Contractors range from milling only
companies, to milling and paving, to
general contractors who only mill for
their own jobs,” White said. “Depending
on the desire of the contractor, as far as
growth and diversification or the desire
to be in control of their own destiny, the
range of services can vary quite different-
ly.”
The market for asphalt milling services
appears strong and in some areas it is
growing.
“The milling marker is growing rapid-
ly in urban areas,” Bruce said. “The need
for speed and surgical precision of cut is
necessitated by traffic patterns and urban
renewal in previously depressed areas.”
RoadHog is seeing an uptick in munici-
pal customers purchasing equipment and
setting up milling crews to complement
their asphalt paving, thus reducing annual
road maintenance budgets.
Some contractors see the costs of invest-
ing in a milling operation to be too cost-
ly, but prefer to still offer the service to
their customers by renting the equipment
when necessary.
“If the equipment is used less than 30%
of the time, it’s probably best to rent,”
stated Bethards. “Another question to ask
is whether you have the ability to repair
the milling machine. A rental source is
often equipped to handle both rental
and repair of their fleet. There are other
financial considerations to consider. For
instance, rental bills can be tax deducted,
while a purchase is a capital expense that
will be amortized.”
Bruce added, “It is better to rent equip-
ment when you have specific needs which
may not repeat. It is also better to rent
until you become comfortable with the
application and equipment you have cho-
sen.”
Renting for many contractors can be a
better solution to owning on many fronts.
“The rental, in many cases, can be a
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[21]
December 2019